Bring on the Sooners!

The Nebraska Cornhuskers took care of business on Black Friday, and thus, Championship Week has begun!

But, before we start looking ahead to next week, and even before we take a look back at what happened yesterday, lets take a look at tonight, where the opponent for Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship is to be determined. Who knows, maybe Dan Beebe will even show up to present the winner with the Big 12 South trophy. That is the proper protocol right?

Oklahoma-Oklahoma St kicks off at 7:00 PM tonight on ABC. The winner will face Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game next week.

There are three questions I’d like to address: Who is Nebraska more likely to defeat next Saturday? Who would you rather see Nebraska play as a fan? And who is going to emerge victorious tonight?

I believe Nebraska has a better chance of defeating the Oklahoma St. Cowboys next week. Obviously, I’m not a subscriber to the theory that it’s tougher to defeat the same team twice in a season. In fact, I think it’s an overall misconception, and believe it is actually easier to defeat the same team a second time then an equally good team for the first time.

Nebraska already went into the Cowboys house and defeated them in what was probably the Big 12 Game of the Year (to this point). I believe the confidence in knowing that, combined with the past championship experience of Oklahoma, outweighs the possible talent advantage that Oky-State has over the Sooners.

That being said, I will be rooting, and rooting hard, for the Oklahoma Sooners tonight. The story, the history, and the tradition make that matchup too compelling. College Football deserves to see it one more time.

The Big 12, actually, screw the four teams from Texas, the Big 8 deserves a final showdown with the caliber of Nebraska and Oklahoma, the two most prestigious teams in the conference who shared the conference’s (and the nation’s) best rivalry before the four Texas teams divorced them.

That potential game intrigues me beyond belief. It has the potential to be the College Football Game of the Year, given the stakes of the game as well as the outside circumstances and hoopla surrounding the game.

Also, facing the stiffest challenger is what I want as a fan, especially with the Big East champion awaiting the winner of the Big 12 Championship in the Fiesta Bowl. I’m sorry, but a BCS Bowl matchup against UConn doesn’t get my red blood boiling.

So who will win tonight?

Oklahoma St has the advantage of playing at home in front of what is sure to be a raucous crowd. The Sooners haven’t played well on the road in the last few years, but spanked Baylor 53-24 away from home last week. However, both of their losses from this season were on the road (Missouri, Texas A&M).

Oklahoma’s advantage is that they’ve been here before. And that isn’t necessarily a players’ thing, but more of a coach’s thing. The Cowboys are 1 of 5 teams to have never played in the Big 12 Championship Game. Bob Stoops has led Oklahoma to 7 Big 12 Championships (winning 6 of them).

I’m very excited that I get to watch OSU WR Justin Blackmon again, who is two great games away from earning HuskerCorner’s vote for the Heisman. He is an absolute monster catching the ball, and has yet to play a game that could even be classified as mediocre. Dude brings it, as shown against Nebraska earlier this year.

I was somewhat surprised to hear the reaction from Husker Nation about who they were rooting for tonight. I expected a 50/50 response, but I didn’t hear of one person rooting for Oklahoma St. tonight. I’d like to go against the grain and root for the Cowboys tonight (who I’ve supported in every other Bedlam Battle), but I think I want what everybody else wants.

Nebraska. Oklahoma. One. Last. Time.